Disposable syringe



United States Patent [45] Patented [72] Inventor John Richard Edwards 2004 W. Yakima Ave., Yakima, Washington 98902 [21] Appl. No. 726,281

[22] Filed May 3, 1968 Sept. 29, 1970 [54] DISPOSABLE SYRINGE 4 Claims, 3 Drawing Figs.

[52] U.S. Cl 128/232, l28/247, 222/567, 1'28/251 [5i] int.Cl A6lm 1/00 Field of Search l28/232,

247, 275,227, 25 l (Bag Digest); 150/9, 10, l l; 206/632, 43, 17.5; 239/327, 328; 222/567, 568, 107

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,923,296 2/l960 Adams et al. 128/227 3,122,297 2/1964 56 115 H 229/14 3,144,866 8/l964 Ellis.... l28/232 3,143,303 9/l964 Geyer 222/567X 3,307,549 3/1967 Zackheim 128/227 Primary Examiner-Richard A. Gaud 'et Assistant Examiner.l. Yasko Anorney- Dana E. Keech ABSTRACT: A disposable syringe primarily for use in feminine hygiene, which includes a rectangular 12"x392" polyethylene bag open at one end, a flat plastic spool, a plastic nozzle threadedly received by the spool opening to make a liquid tight fit therewith, the spool being freely received within the open end of the bag, and a rubber band wrapped around the bag end to bind the same to the spool in a fluid tight connection therewith.

1 DISPOSABLE SYRINGE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The-provision of a syringe or kit for assembling the same which can be packed in such a small space as to firmveniently i'rito a'haridbag and which is so inexpensive that, after use, it need not be cleaned and dried for repackaging but may be disposed of in any trash dispository such as the wastebasket commonly provided in a hotel or motel room.

2.'De'scription of the Prior Art 'P'atents on reee'nt'developments in this specific field include the following:

Friedman, US. Pat. No. 2,568,915 Sept. 25, I951;

Kempel, US. Pat. No.2,664,893 Jan. 5, 1954;

Hyatt, US Pat. No. 2,8] 1,968 Nov. 5, 1957; and

Ellis, U.S. Pat. No. 3,l44,866 Aug. 18, 1964.

The closest of these is Kempel which shows a rubber bag molded to have acruci-form section when collapsed. The open end of this bag has a beaded neck which is smaller in diameter thanthe' lower flangeof a nozzle base spool so as to snap over said flange and tightly conform tothe annular groove of the spool; The nozzle penetrates the bore of the spool and makes a threaded liquid-tight connection therewith thus connecting the'bag with the nozzle.

The bag of Kempel is a relatively costly itemto produce and largely defeats the objective of providing a'very low priced syringe so that a person of moderate means can afford to dispose of it after a single use.

SUMMA or THE INVENTION The present invention undertakes, by eliminating the rubber bag of the Kempel-patent'and adopting an extremely i nexpe n sive butentirely'satisfaetory 'shee'tpo lyethylerie'baghaving the shape of a flat, relatively long and narrowrectangle, to'attain the gen'eralobjectabove pointed out'of this particular field of invention. 1 I

Byrnaking this bag rectangular and long and narrow, two importanturi'relatedob jects are realizecll Such a bag may be very cheaply manufactured from a folded matrix of sheet polyethylene, the folded edge of whichfornis the bag bottom. Thenarrowness of the bag riiakesa special 'shaping of the open bagend unnecessary to facilitate its'attachhient to the nozzle base sp'oolasinKe'mpel and Friedman. ln'fact, the bag ofthe present inven'tionisso narrow that av'ery good seal can be effected between the 'open bagendand the nozzle base spool merely byfinsei'ting"thespool in thebag neckan d winding an endless rubber band afewtimes aroun'd the spool.

' BRIEII DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. I is an exploded, perspective view of the several elements trt'irn'prising the invention as these may be packaged in theform ofak'itfor assembly by a purchaser in completing the invention. 1 h v FIG 2 isan elevational view of the elements shown in FIG. I with these assenibled 'and with the" bag ofthe invention filled with water to agivenindicated level as when the invention is prepared for use. i l

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional view taken on the line' S-JofFIG. Zand illustrates the manner in which the open neck of thebag of the invention is secured to the spool-like nozzle ba'sethereof, and also shows the manner in which the lower end ofthe'nozzlefits into the central bore of the base' and has threaded connection therewith was to form a-tight sealbetween'the nozzle and the base.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A disposable syringe of the present invention is preferablyshbwn inth'edraWings as comprising a relatively long and narrow rectartgularflat polyethylene bag 11 'which includes -front'and back walls IZ'antI 13 which areunited by foldM in thematerialforming the bottom endof the bag and which are securely gathered along their side edges by weld seals 15 and l6'which are preferably produced by hot wire cutting bag 11 from one end of a folded sheet of polyethylene thefolded width of which is equal to the length of said bag. The views of bag 11 and the other parts of the invention shown in FIG. 1 are drawn to scale, the dimensions of bag ll preferably being 3%" wide and 12" long.

The invention also includes a nozzle base 17 in the form of a flat spool having a relatively large diameter and a short axial dimension, an axial bore 18 being provided therein with gun breech threads 19 which are circumferentially spaced apart; in excess of and located in directly opposite positions within the bore 18. The base 17 is provided with a relatively deep annular groove 20 formed in the periphery thereof.

The syringe also has a plastic spray nozzle 25 having at one end a spray head 26 and at the other end, a nipple 27 fitting loosely into the base bore 18 and co-extensivein length with said bore, and having male gun breechthreads 28 and an annular external shoulder 29 which is held against the upper face of the nozzle base 17 by engagement of the threads 28 with the threads 19 of the nozzle base 17.

The disposable syringe 10 also includes a rubber band 30 which is employed in assembling the bag 11 with the nozzle base 17 in the following manner. The open end portion 31 of the polyethylene bag I11 may be referred to as the neck of the bag. The nozzle base 17 is adapted to be inserted axially in the bag neck 31 so as to be located about inside the upper extremity of the bag. The neck of the bag is now folded around and pressed against the periphery of the nozzle base 17 and the rubber band 30 is wrapped anumber of times about' the bag neck so as to compress this into the annular groove 20 of the nozzle base thereby retaining the bag and nozzle base in assembled relation and making a liquid tight connection between these elements. The nozzle 25 is preferably removed from the base 17 during the application of the rubber band 30 asabove described.

' When preparing the syringe 10 for use, the nozzle 25 is also removed from the nozzle base .17 so that water and any other materials that it may be desired to incorporate therewith may with liquid, following which the, nipple 27 is inserted in the bore 18 of the base 17 and rotated a quarter turn to-cause the threads of the'nozzle and base to be engaged and press the annular external shoulder '29 of the nozzle tightly against the upper surface of the base.

After being thus prepared, the syringe 10 is used in the ordinary manner. The delivery of the liquid in the bag 11 at a suitable pressure from the spray, nozzle, is accomplished by applying the hands to thebag'to maintain a constant pressure thereagainst. If desired, the lower end of the bag may be rolled up as the amount of water in the bag diminishes to facilitate keeping the water in the bag under pressure until it has all been discharged through the nozzle 25.

While the syringe 10 is relatively inexpensive to manufachandbag for emergency use and thereaft convenient refuse depository such as wastebaskets universally available in hotel or'motel rooms, it is not difficult toremove the rubber band 30 .which secures the bag neck to the nozzle base 17 following the use of the device and thus disassemble the syringe 10 into l illustrated in FIG. the said elements individually after which they may bequickly replaced in the plastic bag in which they are merchandised and be made available for subsequent assembly and reuse.

Iclaim:

1..In a disposable syringe, the combination of: I

a hard plastic feminine hygiene nozzle having a short connection nipple at one end and a spray head at its opposite end;

the units comprising the same as separately 1. This renders it very easy to clean and dry.

an annular external sealing shoulder at the juncture of said nipple with said nozzle;

male gun-breech threads on said nipple;

a flat spool-like plastic nozzle base co-extensive in length with said nipple and axially bored to loosely receive the same;

female gun-breech threads formed in said axial bore and bypassed by said male threads when misaligned therewith, the two threads being interengaged by rotating said nozzle after insertion of said nipple in said base bore to press said shoulder into sealing engagement with said base;

said nozzle base having an outside diameter over three times its axial length and being provided with a deep annular external groove embracing substantially the entire periphery of said base;

a rectangular, flat, relatively long and narrow polyethylene bag, one narrow end of which is closed while the other narrow end is completely open prior to assembly, the latter bag end portion comprising a neck with a diameter, when filled, which is greater than that of said nozzle base 4 but not substantially greater than twice said base diameter; and

rubber band means applied to said bag neck and nozzle base after said base has been inserted into said neck and the latter folded circumferentially against'the periphery of said nozzle base, to compress said folded bag neck into said annular groove to accomplish a liquid tight connection between said bag neck and said base.

2. A combination as recited in claim 1 wherein said bag has the bottom thereof formed by a fold in said sheet polyethylene and the side edges of said bag are hot-cut-sealed and approximately six times as long as the diameter of said bag when the latter is filled with liquid.

3. A combination as recited in claim 1 wherein said bag when flat, measures approximately 12 inches long and 3% inches wide.

4. A combination as recited in claim 2 wherein said bag when filled with liquid having a length approximately six times the distended diameter thereof. 

